Indicator.



"A L'. STEVENS.

|NDICATOR. APPLICATION FILED APR. 11. m6.

INVENTOR" Patented Feb. 20.

' WITNESSES- 1,216,876. I o Applicationfiled April 17; 1916; 's smstv1 -j 1 I gne'rnvn L. STEVENS, onnosnvitnn, CALIEORNIA'F 5 INDICATOR.

To alliwhom tangy-concern.-

Be it known that l, ARTHUR L. STEVENS, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Roseville, in the county of Placer and State of. California, have invented certain new and iisdful Improvements inlndieators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a device for at tachment to freight carsuand is designed to indicate the weight of said cars and the date when saidweight was taken, and has for its primary object to provide a simple, easily operated and permanent means for indicating weight and date which may be changed by the properpersonas occasion demands, and with great quickness.

Another object is to provide a means which when once applied lessens the amount of time, work and delay in indicating the weight of a car and the day of its weighing, and permits theldeparture of the car immediately after setting the device for weight and date, while at the present time when these indicationsareplaced upon a car by stenciling, more or less time is required before the car. can proceed. Time is required for the paint to dry, and further time is consumed because of the number of channels through which the orders for placing the weight on the car must pass before the work can be done and after completion. The device is closed and secured. against unlawful tampering by any ordinary car seal whichfmust be broken before any change can be made in the weight or date indicated, and by reason of the fact that the securing means is universally used car seal, said cars maybe reweighed and the new weight indicated at once at any place on the route of thelcar'where suchnew weight isdesired.

\Viththese objects in view and others to be described more fully in detail, the invention consists in theconstruction and a1'-' rangement of partsnheremafter set .forthand illustrated in ing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the car weight indicator as it appears when in.posi tion on acar; V I v i Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional the accompanying drawview of the same.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the indicator as seen from the left hand side, and.

' Fig. .4 is a vertical cross-sectional the line 44 of Fig.

View) on Specification 'oflnetter s Pat entlatentgeid -those of the lower row are numbered 32,133"

have their indicating faces in contact-with I the front plate 11,- while'the intermediate Refe1j-ring'to"the aiavi-ngsjb numerals,

1O indicates'a thiucasing of such len'gt'li and height as'ismost desirablefor uwj m p'osefand comprises a front'plate '11 amid a rear plate '12, these platesbeingconnected together in parallel relation endstripsf' 13, rivets ll 1)assi11g{tl1roL1gl1ithetwo plates 'j and the strips to secure the lattei 'iniposition.

Pivoted to the top of the plate at one end on a stud 15 a cover 16 that has down wardly projecting side flanges 17 which overlie the front and rear plates '11 and 12. A bottom 18 is pivoted on astud 19 at the same end of the casing as thetop 16 and has upstanding flanges 20 to overlap the front and rear plates in a similar 'manner as the top 16. The end of the top 16 opposite the pivoted end is provided. with a dou nu'ardly extending finger 21 that lies close against the end of the casing 10 and at about the center of the casing is a loop 22 formed on the tonguef Alsim'ilar tongue 23 projects or upwardly from the bottom 18 and'has a loop 24 substantiallyin line with the loop 22, these loops corresponding in position with a slot 26 in'the 'lug 25. '-Through ,this slot and the loops 22, 24 is passed a wire27 of an ordinary car seal 28 by means of which the cover 16 and the bottom 18 are securely locked over the open top and bottom ofthe casing. v

Vithin the casing 10 are two horizontal' rows of indicating disksor-wheels mounted on pivots-that extend crosswise of thecas ing and are riveted on their ends'in: the front plate 11 and therear plate 12. These disks or wheels in the upper'row are'i'n'di cated' by the nu1nerals'29, '30 and-"31 while;

and 3 1. Number wheels 29, 30 and 31' to tate freely, unless looked, upon horizontal pivots 35 while the lower number'wheels'32',

33 and 3-1 are similarly mounted'ompivots 36. Number wheels 29', 3O and-31f "indic ,99

the weight of the car whilethe wheels 32, 33 and 34 give the date when weighed. 1 The space between the plates 11 and 12 ,ise'qual'; to the thickness of two disksand therefore to enable as, large disks or. Wheels to beused.

or'- wheels are made to.v overlap as shown in Fig. 2'. As there seen, the, disks 29 'and31 1 9 as possible in the smallest casing, these disks wheel or disk 30 is under the two previously mentioned. In the lower row disks or wheels, this position is reversed, the middle wheel 33 of the three lower wheels bearing.

vided by. peripheral notches 37 into ten equal pa rts and a number placed below each notch, the numbers extending consecutively from zero to nine, there being one number for each notch. The numbers are so p0s1- tioned on the wheels that the number immediately over the pivot 35 of each wheel will be displayed through a side opening 38 on the top of the front plate 11. These numbers indicate the weight of the car in hundred-weights and to make this perfectly clear, two ciphers are placed at the right of the opening 38 through which the numbers on the wheel 31 are seen. Extending downwardly from the top 16 above each disk 29, 30 and 31 is a locking lug 39, said lugs engaging the uppermost notches in the disks when the cover is closed and holds said disks against rotation.

Similar locking lugs 40 project upward from the bottom 18 and engagenotche's 41 in the peripheries of the number wheels 32,

33 and 34. The number wheel 32 has twelve notches in its periphery and on its face numerals 1 to 12 opposite each notch, these numbers indicating the months of a year. Wheels 33 and 34 however have ten notches only in their peripheries similar to the Wheels in the row above.- The numbers on the face of wheels 32, 33 and 34 runin reverse order to those on the wheels above them, because the wheels of the lower row are set from the underside, while those ofthe upper roware set fromabove. The wheels 33 and 34 are the year-wheels and indicate the last two numbers of the year for which they are years set. The-numbers on these wheels are visiblethrough openings 42 in the front plate 11, the lowermost number on each wheel immediately beneath the pivot 36, being visible through. said openings. The bottom 18 has a number of holes 43 formed through the bottom thereof for the escape of water and dirt from the interior of the casing.

When a freight car equipped with this device has been weighed, the top 16 is raised and the several wheels 29, 30 and 31u turned lowered and the number wheels of the lower 1 row are in turn set to indicate the month The top and bottom are then closed so that the lugs 39 will engage notches 37 of the upper row of wheels and the lugs 40 enter the notches 41 of the lower row of wheels,

thereby looking all of said wheels against,

rotation. Afterward, a seal of the usual type employed by railroads is passed through the loops 22am 24 of the respective tongues 21 and 23 on the top and bottom and also through the lug 25 on the front plate of the casing. By this means, the wheels cannot be changed for the purpose of altering the numbers or date except by breaking the seal, in which case, the bottom 18 will drop and thereby indicate that the device had been tampered with.

By the employment of the abovegdescribed device, the expense for numbering is very much reduced as there is no continuing expense after once applying the device and the same may be applied for the cost of one stencil. 'The amount of clerical work necessary to renumber or re 'stencil a car is enormously reduced and the work of changing the numbers placed in the hands of that department of the railway service where it belongs. No time is lost in waiting for the paint to dry as is necessary in the present method, nor is time lost in the stenciler hunting for the carto be renumbered as the change is made in the number, while-the "car is on the Weighing scales and may be removed from the scales and at once sent upon the road. If desired, the weight indicated on the car may be changed at any time to show the weight of a loaded car. A other advantage in the useof this device in the saving of, time is'the fact that in stormy weather it is not necessaryto hold over cars for re-weighing until they dry, which is necessary where the number is painted on the sides of the car, because it is well-known that paint will not adhere to the side of the car whenthe latter is wet.

I claim:

1. In an indicating device, the combination with a thin casing, having'opposite narrow sides hinged thereto at one end, and securing means at the other end, a row of sight openings being formed in one broad face of said casing near each of said hinged sides, of two rows of number wheels 'rotatably mounted in said casing, and means on said hinged sides to lock when closed said number wheels against rotation.

2. In an indicator, the combination with a.casing having a top and bottom hinged thereto, of two rows bf number wheels rotatably mounted therein, each wheel having a notched periphery and. a circular row of numbers on its face, and means on said top and bottom to engage when closed a'notch on each wheel and prevent rotation thereto.

3. In an indicator, the combination with and the year when the car was weighed.- a casing having a top and bottom hinged near the thereto, a row of sight, openings in one side near the top and a similar row of openings bottom, of two .rows of number wheels rotatably mounted in said casing, each wheel having a notched periphery and a circular row of numbers on its face, a number on each wheel being visible through said openings, and means on said top and bottom to engage when closed a notch in each wheel to prevent rotation thereof. 4

4. In an indicator, the combination with a casing having a top and bottom hinged thereto at one end and having means on their other ends to hold them closed by means of a seal, of two rows of number wheels rotatably mounted 111 said casing, each Wheel having a notched periphery and a circular row of numbers on its face, and means on said top and bottom to engage when closed a notch on each wheel to prevent rotation thereof.

5. In an indicator, the combination with a casing, having a top and bottom hinged thereto at one end, a finger onthe opposite ends of said top and bottom, saidfingers adapted to overlap and provided with means for connecting the same to hold the top and bottom closed, of two rows of number wheels rotatably mounted in said casing, eacli'wheel having a notched periphery and a circular row 'of numbers on its face, ently rotatable when the top open, and a plurality of lugs on said top. and bottom to engage when closed a notch Copies of this patent be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the and independand bottom are in each of said wheels to prevent rotation thereof.

6. In an indicator, the combination with a casing formed of two parallel side plates, spaced a'sholt distance apart by end strips, a top hinged at one end to said casing and having afinger at right angles thereto depending from its other end, a bottom similarly hinged to the casing and having anupstanding finger at right angles to the bottom, each of said fingers having means cotiperating with each other and with an opening in one Ofsaid plates by which said top and bottom may be secured in closed position by a seal, and a plurality of freely rotatable number wheels within said casing adapted to be locked against rotation by the top and bottom when the latter are closed.

7. In an indicator, the combination with a casing having a top and bottom hinged thereto, and means for locking the same in closed position, of two rows of number wheels freely rotatable within said casing, each Wheel having a notched periphery, and a plurality of lugs projecting from both the top and the bottom to engage notches on said wheels and lockthem against rotation when the top and bottom are closed.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signa ture in presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR L. STEVENS. Witnesses A. S. TEAL,

LEANDER' HoLMEs.

Commissioner of Patents, 

